


third violin

by alderations



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Backstory, Fluff, Gen, Insecurity, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 09:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27968429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alderations/pseuds/alderations
Summary: Tim hasn’t seen the new guy in a week, which he finds concerning. He doesn’t want to find it concerning, because he doesn’t want to care, but Raphaella seems to fit in with the rest of the crew just fine—and when she doesn’t, she makes the space her own—but new guy, Braun or whatever, has apparently decided that he’d rather hide away until they all forget he’s there, rather than actually getting to know his new crewmates.
Relationships: Marius von Raum & Gunpowder Tim
Comments: 15
Kudos: 102





	third violin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chitra_Rive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chitra_Rive/gifts).



Tim hasn’t seen the new guy in a week, which he finds concerning. He doesn’t  _ want  _ to find it concerning, because he doesn’t want to  _ care,  _ but Raphaella seems to fit in with the rest of the crew just fine—and when she doesn’t, she makes the space her own—but new guy, Braun or whatever, has apparently decided that he’d rather hide away until they all forget he’s there, rather than actually getting to know his new crewmates.

By all means, “getting to know” the crew tends to be a painful and harrowing experience, so Tim can’t really blame the guy. When he sets off to find his pod—he and Raphaella took over the one that used to be Nastya’s, before she spent  _ all _ her time in the depths of the ship—Tim half expects to be ambushed and disemboweled before he can even get halfway down the radius of the O’Neill ring.

Instead, he finds New Guy fiddling (pun intended) with a violin that looks older than he is, immortality notwithstanding. He’s lost in focus, eyes closed and lips parted, so he doesn’t notice Tim approaching until they’re barely two feet apart, at which point Tim clears his throat and New Guy jumps about three feet into the air.

“Space fucking Jesus Christ,” New Guy spits, clutching his violin bow to his chest. “I was not aware that immortality made you  _ completely silent,  _ too.”

Tim snorts. “It doesn’t. I’m just special. Braun, was it?”

“Br—what? Oh. Marius. Baron Marius von Raum.”

The name is obviously fake, but it’s not Tim’s place to comment. In fact, he may well be the only member of the crew who still goes by his birth name, if only because  _ Gunpowder  _ is functionally unbeatable. “Marius. Got it. Is there a reason you’ve been holed up in your pod all week? We’re starting to worry that you were a weird collective fever dream.”

Marius sets his violin down on the table gingerly and studies his nails. The ones on his metal hand, so there’s really not much to study; at least, Tim  _ hopes  _ his mechanism wasn’t designed to grow fingernails. “No, I just—I, um—y’know. Stage fright, I guess? You’re all kinda… a lot.”

“Stage fright?” Tim teases. He can have some fun with this guy, if nothing else, but he feels a regrettable pang of sympathy for the way Marius avoids his eyes. “You already made quite the dramatic entrance. I don’t think you have much to worry about there.”

That just makes Marius scowl. “It’s—I’m—it’s dumb. I never said it made sense.”

Tim pulls out one of the chairs at Marius’s table and sits down, resting his chin on his hand and leaning forward so Marius can’t avoid looking at him. “Out of everyone on this ship, I’d say that I, personally, am… one of the  _ least  _ likely to blackmail you. So you’re better off telling me, rather than keeping it all bottled up. Or, worse, letting Aurora figure it out and make fun of you forever. A spaceship never forgets.”

**That is categorically untrue.**

“Didn’t ask,” Tim grumbles. His attention is still on Marius, who leans a hip on the table and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Okay, fine, it’s just that you guys are all… cool? I feel like—like there’s no way I should be here. Raphaella is awesome, she fits right in, but there’s not really—there’s no room for whatever I am. Which is nothing. And you’re all so  _ good,  _ and—”

With a sharp cackle, Tim cuts him off. “Good?  _ Good?  _ Did you miss the word ‘pirate’ or do you have oatmeal for a brain?” Marius reels back in offense, at least until Tim waves him off. “Joking. But the point stands. We’re all awful, it’s kind of our whole  _ thing.  _ I mean, we like to think that we’re badass, but at the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of gay parasites with bad aim.”

Marius wrinkles his brow like he’s not sure what to make of that information. “Your music, though. All I’ve got is this violin, and I’m not—it’s not like I’m any good at it. Plus, you’ve already  _ got  _ a violinist.”

“Violist,” Tim corrects him. “I play violin too, technically, but—sorry, that’s beside the point. Jonny doesn’t play  _ anything.  _ We let him have a harmonica just so he has a stim toy to play with when he’s not actively narrating. And he’s still a valuable part of the band  _ and  _ the crew, even if his job is extraordinarily fake.”

The affectionate derision in Tim’s voice seems to relax Marius a bit, and he picks his violin bow up again and starts turning it between his fingers. “As long as I’m not, y’know, stepping on any toes. I’d still like to have a job, though, even if it’s just so I can feel… wanted. Right?”

“My job is hoarding guns,” Tim deadpans.

**The human aspect of this crew could use a therapist.**

Tim glares up at the ceiling. “This is an A-B conversation, Aurora.  _ C  _ your way out.”

**Yes. Aurora-Baron. And I have seen the Baron reading an awful lot of old psychology journals.**

“I  _ did  _ go to college for three weeks,” Marius muses. “She might be onto something.”

Tim realizes, belatedly, that he might have resigned them all to a fate worse than excessive harmonica.

**Author's Note:**

> this was a prompt/request from Chandri @Blue_Rive! I still don't write enough Tim, so I'm happy for the practice. And I needed to project some insecurity onto, like, literally any fictional character, so there you have it.
> 
> hope you all enjoyed! this is just short and sweet and relaxed but I've got other stuff in the pipeline. so. comments sustain me. or come see me on tumblr @alderations, where people freak out every time they realize my icon is a bird for some reason.


End file.
